Time to run the annual arriving time contest for when we arrive in OBX (Outer Banks aka, Cape Hatteras) this week. 13th - 27th of Oct.

I'm super late on getting this out, so reply asap.

Contest closes once we leave, so you have only about a day and a half to enter your guess.

Rules:1) Post your time of arrival. Time will be Eastern Standard time.2) Time is entered the exact moment we cross the first houses in Mirlo Beach which is by S - Turns and where the old Nights at Rodanthe house used to be.3) 3 prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.4) Enter once only.

Hints:1) We're leaving Friday the 12th. Morning or afternoon, not yet sure. Depends somewhat on the winds for Saturday. Hint, hint. 2) It's taken us anywhere between 19-22 hours in the past. Bob and Jens are exempt from entering. 3) We're taking any rock shaking acts to help with the winds.

Below is some info on the trip in general not related to the contest.

I didn't post anything yet about the trip due to it completely filling up this year by word of mouth and by others who have wanted to go in previous years. I'm very humbled by this and stoked on having an incredible house right on the sound.

Some SUP's from JP Australia (Cruiser Carbon, All Around and Wide Body) are on the way in case there's no wind.

Kites from Cabrinha, Slingshot, Epic, Blade and RRD to try. Might be a few others also and going to do our best to get a good light wind test session going on some of the better light wind kites be theses companies.

Axis Kiteboards is taking over where Underground left off and I'll have some of the first Axis boards in the country to try. Thanks Adrian Roper.

If anyone is interested in any feedback on any of this gear, let me know. We have an incredible crew who is very forthright in opinions and feedback on gear.

There is a kiting crew of 6 from Indiana and Illinois going the first week as well, staying in an oceanfront house in Avon. I've met a couple of the Chicago gang the past month (primarily John Lynch, who learned kitesurfing with us out at Hatteras a few years ago, and West). We're planning to mostly kite in the ocean, including primarily downwinders, but none of us are radical kiters, most just getting into the ocean scene, so if folk from your crew are interested in joining us, please contact me. Some of us might be interested in coming up your way to see/try some of that gear, if that is possible. My name is Hugh Robertson, and my cell is 217 seven seven eight 1320.

Oh, and I bet Saturday at 9AM, which is about when we will arrive, hoping for a good NE ocean downwinder to our house to get the week off to a good start, perhaps all the way from Salvo.

I will be staying in Avon with my wife from the 20th to the 27th and hopefully we can get together with you guys so that I can try some of your demo surfboards. I'm currently looking for a 5'10"-6'1". It would be awesome if we could arrange an ocean downwinder together...maybe 2...how about more?

The scope of the trip is to get my wife up and riding so I will be spending most of my time standing in the middle of the sound and yelling at her but I'm hoping for some NE ocean action when she is resting...

How did it go? We had a 2.5 hour delay in middle of no-where VA (Ruthers Glen) where the wheel of the jet ski was literally ready to fall off. We got super lucky that a guy at the gas station at 3:00 AM told us we had a wheel problem. So the earlier guesses should have been close to the target, but in the end, it looks like Jeff F from Madison is the winner at 1 minute off and I'll have to check the chicago forum and facebook to check on everyone else's guesses. Way to go Jeff.

Bob, good to meet you down at Isabel's. I had some good riding in the ocean that first Saturday, then in the sound on Monday (?). Rest of the week was a bust, except for the big waves from Raphael that you guys were enjoying. Hope you got some wind for your second week. Did you leave before Sandy? Hugh

Great to meet you also. Second week was so so at best for winds. Had a couple of decent days, but glad I brought 3 SUP's with us as we had a lot of fun in the surf for 4 days. On multiple days, we were paddling amongst pods of dolphins and they would swim right near and under us. Very surreal and cool.

Plus we did some night kiting 2 nights on the trip. Great time regardless of the lack of wind. Have you seen the damage from Sandy in OBX? We left Saturday morning and looked at S-turns and could tell that the dunes would not last and the storm wasn't even near full strength yet. Lots of damage.

I did hit up Sheboygan yesterday for some big waves. See you on the water.